Gaining Clarity

A simple idea for club and school coaches to use so that players have a clear understanding of what is required in certain situations is to formulate a 'Policy' which is carried out dependent upon the aspect of the game which is in motion at the time.

The following are some ideas to be used as starting points for defence and attack.

Along with each 'policy' there needs to be a technical, tactical and philosophical understanding of the requirements that fit the team plan.

On defence for example the policy at the tackle may well be '1 + 1'.  This will indicate to the players that that the first player must make the tackle and the second player arriving must finish it off so that between the two defenders the aim is to stop the man and the ball.

The technical aspects are obviously those techniques associated with the tackle. These are associated with the level of your players and may proceed all the way through to completing the tackle and getting to the feet and retrieving the ball.

There is much technical detail that needs to be coached and practiced.

The tactical aspect which will develop as the players get older, will be decisions based on what has to be done in the tackle to create opportunities for the next defensive player to get the ball. A simple tactic, and one used at every level, is for the first defender to tackle low and the second defender to get in over the ball so that he can steal it. There will be much technical detail attached. Another tactic might be for both players to drive in hard and win the confrontation so that the attacking team is driven back and is under pressure.

The philosophical aspect is the attitude each team takes in to a match as far as what they are trying to achieve in defensive situations. For example the team may be an aggressive defensive unit that makes every effort to go forward and hit hard with the second man doing the same. Other teams may well be more suited to being highly organised and work together across the field so that there are always numbers in place to make the tackle and help with the situation.

If you as the coach understand and can coach the technical, tactical and philosophical, then the '1 + 1 Policy' will be the starting point from which to develop. The key idea for the players is to know that '1 + 1' is what they have to do.

Of course the coach can develop other 'policies' which clarify what is expected in certain situations.

As an example '3 up' might be a good call for the close in defenders at the ruck which would indicate that the third man out leads the line up and can come on the blind side of the ball receiver for a big hit. The two defenders inside the third man must quickly fill in the space inside him. Each player will need to know his role (tactical) with the idea being to make the tackle on their side of the tackle line (Philosophical). Once again there is plenty of technical detail to be coached.

Another policy in close could be for the counter ruck when your team senses that the first two tacklers have caused sufficient pressure for the team to turn the ball over.

The policy might be ' +2' indicating the next two players should drive in and over the ball to retrieve it. Any player might make the call but each player must understand and react to what is in front of them and make good decisions about exactly what they have to do. For a start, get them driving in to the opponents and clearing the ball.

The team may be introduced to two policies in wide phase play with a plan if the team has plenty of numbers and another plan if they are under pressure with fewer defenders than attackers. The main policy could well be ' 13 up' with the philosophy indicating that the players in the midfield run up fast to cut off the ball before it goes wide.

This will take much technical and tactical planning and practicing as each player on the inside on the defensive line has an important job to do by filling in the spaces inside the runners moving up quickly on the outside. It is a good idea to study teams on television to see how this works.

'13 back' would indicate that the defensive line will go up and push out from the inside in what is a common way to defend. There is much technical and tactical detail in fine tuning defensive patterns but if they are practiced against opposition and the players know the 'policy' then there is more likelihood of it being successful.

The basic policy on phase attack may well be '1 + 3' which would indicate a ball carrier and three support players at the ruck.

The technical detail around the ball carrier in particular, but also the support players, is crucial for a team to be successful. The basic skills are always the same with the short steps, bent knees, body before ball, eyes up, drive in with the shoulder (or fend), spine in line, and so on, but the tactical detail may alter somewhat depending on the philosophy.

If you want the ball carrier to get in behind the tackler the tactic may well be to step sideways before driving forward. Then pump the legs and drive forward as far as possible before recoiling and placing the ball. When the support players see this the first man will be in low and driving over the ball or on to the tackler, but to clear the area, with the other two attackers looking for defenders to bind on and clean out.

Of course there may be many different choices for the support players depending on what the defenders have done.

The philosophy of the team will then come in to play as what happens next. Mostly the ball will be fast but it might be taken forward close to the ruck or it might get in to the hands of the key playmaker normally at first receiver.

The sort of things that happen around the ruck will determine the coaches overall philosophy, but of course there can be a variety of attacks depending on the position on the field and other contributing factors. Maybe a couple of 'policy' calls could be introduced.

For example if the play is out in the country (where there are less defenders) the policy might be '1 + pop' so that there is an expectation that the attacker drives through the tackle area and pops the ball after he hits the ground.

Once again there will be much technical detail to sort through with the ball carrier needing to get in a strong position to force a gap and then having his arms free to be able look and pass after hitting the ground or as he is about to be tackled.

One interesting policy you could introduce is when the ball is traveling out in to the country. This time the '1 + 3 policy' can have a different meaning (so will probably need a different name) but will indicate that the ball carrier needs three passing options as he attacks the line.

He will have a player coming up on his inside, maybe a short runner on a flat ball and a runner drifting wide who he can hit in front of the short runner. If every time the player who is charged with taking the ball forward, has these options, and the coach demands them every time, there will be a huge improvement in backplay and running at phase.

In fact it would be a good idea to use this policy in all the attack plays!

If you think about it each aspect of the game could have a policy attached to it. Start small and it will help clarify what you are trying to achieve. It is a good idea to introduce these specific calls and build on them as you go.